avatarJF Danskin

Summary

The webpage provides a collection of 11 mood-related writing prompts designed to inspire writers to explore various emotional states through their writing, ranging from anger and joy to anxiety and love.

Abstract

The website content introduces a set of writing prompts aimed at helping writers overcome writer's block and enhance their creative writing skills. These prompts are tailored to evoke emotional responses and cover a spectrum of moods, encouraging writers to delve into different scenarios and character interactions. The prompts suggest writing about intense emotions such as rage, joy, and frustration, as well as more nuanced feelings like the excitement of good news mixed with another's hidden horror, or the challenge of expressing deep love. The page also includes a memoir-style prompt, a flash fiction challenge, and a speculative piece about space colonization. Additionally, the author provides links to related articles and encourages readers to subscribe for more writing resources.

Opinions

  • The author believes that writing prompts can be both a challenge and a useful constraint to stimulate creative thinking and overcome the fear of the blank page.
  • The prompts are presented as a way to increase a writer's output, particularly for those participating in a story challenge or looking to write more short stories or flash fiction.
  • The author suggests that exploring emotional extremes in writing can be beneficial for character development and story depth.
  • By offering a variety of emotional scenarios, the author implies that writers can practice empathy and diverse perspectives through their characters.
  • The inclusion of a link to an article on basic emotions indicates the author's view that understanding the psychology of emotions can enhance the writing process.
  • The author's enthusiasm for the creative process is evident, as they provide additional resources for readers interested in the origins of new ideas.
  • The invitation to subscribe for future writing prompts and articles reflects the author's commitment to supporting and engaging with the writing community.

Writing tools

11 Mood-Related Writing Prompts

Let some rage hit the page!

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

Hi there, writers! Time for another list of writing prompts.

These can provide both a challenge and a useful constraint, helping you to lose the fear of the blank page, and get your creative thinking underway.

If you are doing the 💯 Story Challenge, or just want to increase your output of short stories or flash fiction, check out a list with all my prompt articles here.

Idea 1

Introduce a character who blows up at the smallest insult or slight. Perhaps they are someone that the main character needs help from, or needs to interview about a crime. Write a scene showing how touchy this person can be.

Idea 2

Write a memoir-style passage about an afternoon when you felt nothing but joy. How the day ends is up to you…

Idea 3

Write a flash fiction story describing a character who is in some kind of service role, and stays totally calm (at least on the surface) despite near non-stop rudeness from the public.

Idea 4

Craft a fictional diary entry, explaining an encounter/conversation which led to you/the character getting massively fired up about a cause.

Idea 5

Pen a scene in which the main character is very excited and happy about some news (your choice — a new job, perhaps?) and another person tries to be enthusiastic but is secretly horrified.

Idea 6

Write a flash fiction story focusing on a first date where the red flags just keep coming, together with a sinking feeling…

Idea 7

A character has to give a speech at work — perhaps at a holiday-related party, or a retirement. They begin with: “If there’s one thing in my life I can’t stand, it’s…” Write what they say next.

Idea 8

A character has been deeply upset by the behaviour of a friend or family member. Craft an imagined response in the form of a letter or email. (Prompt repeated from this list).

Idea 9

Write a single scene or dialogue in which one person struggles to express how deeply in love they feel. Do they get there in the end?

Idea 10

Have you ever met someone really defensive? Write a flash fiction story where one person is trying to give an uber-defensive person some helpful advice or guidance. Perhaps it’s a co-worker who has made a simple mistake, for example.

Idea 11

What would it feel like to board the first spaceship sent to colonise another planet? Draft a short story (or perhaps the first chapter of a novel) on this theme!

I hope you found these prompts helpful! By the way, you can read a really good article about the psychology of emotions in Psychology Today, here:

And if you are as fascinated by the creative process as I am, find out more about where ideas come from:

I hope you enjoyed this! Don’t miss future list of prompts or any of my other work by signing up to get my articles by email — here. Happy writing!

Creative Writing
Creativity
Writing
Fiction
Writing Prompts
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarPriya Sridhar
The End of NaNoWriMo for Me

After Allegations of Inappropriate Response to Abuse, the Online Writing Community Struggles to Make Sense of It All: One MLs Perspective

5 min read
avatarAria Wraithe
Neil Hawkins, Necromancer For Hire

I’m probably not what you expected.

5 min read
avatarGeorgie James
7 Writing Techniques so Good They Should be Illegal

I probably shouldn’t be telling you these…

6 min read
avatarJF Danskin
The Gods Return

What happens when they come back for more?

11 min read
avatarJet Propelled
All About Eva

First Line Fiction

6 min read
avatarErica Verrillo
67 Calls for Submissions in September 2024 — Paying markets

This September there are more than five dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As…

12 min read